There's No Way Only Forty Percent of GameStop Customers Know About Trades

Hardcore Gamer: GameStop accepts used games in the same way an alcoholic accepts a drink. The company is addicted to the profit margin they provide, originally because new games have a terrible return but eventually due to going public and the need to show increased profits every quarter.

Exactly! You can tell a customer something and the next time they will fight you tooth and nail claiming you never told them. Also does the writer seem to think everyone who comes into EB/Gamestop is a seasoned gamer? I have a lot of customers who come in and have no idea we take trades even though there is a banner in the window saying we'll take your used games.

A lot of customers are coming to buy gifts for their boyfriends, grandsons, granddaughters, nephews, nieces, son in law etc. They're not necessarily gamers themselves.

Also there isn't 100% compliance on the trade comment when you call. I have worked in my store for many years and just say Hello EB Games 'location', your speaking to _____ how may I help you?

I wouldn't be surprised if it's even more than half tbh. A lot of people who come into game stores seem to barely understand video games in general, let alone what sort of deals game stores actually offer.

There are many casual gamers who only play whatever cheap stuff is in the bargain bin, grandparents and parents buying games for their kids, kids who don't understand things like trade-ins and just want to play games, and plenty of people who just don't care. I've seen so many people who don't even know the difference between the Wii and Wii-U, or people who don't understand why a Ps3 game won't play on their son's Xbox 360, or they need the clerk to explain terms like 'multiplayer' and 'controller', etc. Not everyone who buys games is a gamer.

man there is absolutely no reason to think that. Gamestop gives some really GREAT trade amounts if you trade things in a timely fashion. the day after the ps4 was announced, I traded in my xbox 360 slim and got $140 store credit. $140 for a system I paid $199 for? thats an insane buy-back deal. also, after about a month i got the platinum in infamous second son and i traded it in for $45 store credit.

Gamestop can be an incredible deal but if you walk in there with a bunch of scratched up 4 year old games they have 1,000 copies of in the back, of course you aint leavin with top dollar.

Low trade-in values for the customer aren't the only problem with Gamestop. What about the fact that they sell those traded-in games for twice the price the customer got when they traded them in?

What about putting employees under pressure to shove Game Informer and lackluster rewards offers at every purchase, devaluing customer service, stacking on paltry commission incentives, and making their already underpaid workers look like sheep to management shepherds?

What about getting into the development circuit by paying for the development of Gamestop-exclusive DLC for games, jacking up the sky-high budgets even more? What about introducing a credit card with a high interest rate to Rewards members with a lot of fine print issues, ones that will be likely be overlooked by the younger consumers?

Trade-in values might be easy to work around if you try hard enough (and get a bit lucky), but there are many other problems with Gamestop that make gamers despise the company.

If you call that a 'great deal' then I'd be worried about how gullible you are...

Gamestop has awful trade promotions, and as someone who worked their I can safely say that they ripoff customers, and do very shady business. DeadRabbits is right they are the worst thing that could happen with the gaming industry. Other places like Best Buy or some smaller stores give way better deals.

Two people above are drastically exaggerating GameStop, and thats why the stores get so much hate.

"Trade in value on release day 10-18" Really? Because last time I checked GameStop offers 35 dollars up to a month after release...

Not only that people act like GameStop is a free trade service and they shouldn't make a profit off it at all. They expect to trade in a 60 dollar game for 60 dollars, no. That's like walking into a dealership and expected to get "new price" value for your last year model.....

Since they don't get full price, they expect to trade it in for 30, then see GameStop turn around and sell it for 30.... what? No. They are a convenience for you, just like a pawn shop. They have a massive chain of stores, you don't. You want quick easy money, you trade it in. They in return sell it at a higher price, why? BECAUSE THEY ARE A STORE! They make the profit. You think your game is worth 60 bucks, then sell it yourself!

GameStop buys low for higher profit margin, but also for the future. When those games don't sell, who gets stuck with them? GameStop.

@SpiralTear, name one major retail chain that doesn't do everything you suggested. Not some small mom and pop game store, a retail chain just as big as GameStop. Even Amazon does pretty much everything you suggested, and last time I checked Amazon gets a lot of praise around here for being angels......

That's not the point. Just because something is widely accepted doesn't mean it should be. I don't think that a $50 game should be worth $7.50 upon trade-in less than a month after release, then re-sold for $40. And I'm speaking from personal experience with that statistic.

As for Amazon, it's not marketed as a trade-in company. Yes, it offers the service, but a huge part of Gamestop's marketing is directed toward things like "trade in your game to get this other game." For what Amazon does, it does well. I've heard MANY more success stories from Amazon than Gamestop when it comes to good customer service, because they have to do much more to reach that. That's why they're treated as "angels."

And Gamestop is getting involved in the development of games, not just the marketing. Looking at how huge game budgets are already, don't you think that adding even more to the plate is even higher risk for not matching that budget in sales, and as a result, laying off a lot of game dev workers?

Like I said, just because something is being done everywhere doesn't mean it SHOULD be. You shouldn't have to just accept bad service. If you're getting ripped off, you take your business to a place that doesn't rip you off. You shouldn't have to jump through hoops and wait for trade-in deals each month to come out ahead. That's just buyer-hostile.